A refrigerator is an appliance used to store foods in a fresh state. The refrigerator is provided with a food storage compartment, which is maintained at a low temperature by a refrigeration cycle to keep foods fresh.
The food storage compartment may be divided into a plurality of storage compartments having different characteristics from each other to allow a user to choose a proper food-storage method in consideration of the kind, characteristic and expiration date of food. Typical examples of the storage compartments are a refrigeration compartment and a freezer compartment.
The refrigeration compartment is maintained at a temperature between about 3° C. and about 4° C. to keep foods and vegetables fresh. The freezer is maintained at a temperature below zero to keep food frozen and/or to make and store ice.
In a conventional refrigerator, a user desiring to obtain cool water stored in the refrigeration compartment needs to open the refrigeration compartment door and take out the water container placed in the refrigeration compartment.
However, a refrigerator having a water dispenser provided at the outside of the door has been developed. The dispenser allows the user to obtain water cooled by cold air in the refrigeration compartment without opening the door. Furthermore, products having a water purifying function added to the dispenser are also distributed.
In addition, when the user wants to drink water or a beverage with ice, the user needs to open the freezer compartment door and take out the ice from an ice tray provided in the freezer compartment. In this case, opening the door, taking out the ice tray and then separating ice from the ice tray may cause inconvenience.
Moreover, when the door is open, the cold air leaks out of the freezer compartment, and thereby the temperature of the freezer compartment rises. Accordingly, the compressor needs to work more, thus wasting energy.
Therefore, an automatic icemaker has been provided in refrigerators to automatically supply water, make ice, and discharge separated pieces of ice through the dispenser when necessary.